Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said Friday hes open to returning in a special session if the states low-cost auto coverage isnt resolved by the end of next week, when the regular session is scheduled to end.
The House and Senate are advancing vastly different bills to meet Gov. Rick Scotts goal to reform the fraud that has become a major part of the cost of the personal injury protection insurance.
Meanwhile senators and representatives have said this could be the last effort to reform a system that requires motorists to carry $10,000 worth of PIP coverage, with insurance companies required to pay out regardless of who caused the accident.
I want to finish the PIP bill during the regular session, and if we cant get it done because it is such a unique bill, if (Scott) choices to bring us back in special session Im more than open to that, Haridopolos told reporters Thursday.
I think he has the right goal in mind and that is to reduce auto insurance rates, and especially by combating fraud.
The Senate version cleared the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday and has yet to be scheduled to appear on the floor. The House bill, HB 119, was approved by the House on Friday.
Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmiee, said if no fault coverage cant be reformed this year, the Legislature should consider in the 2013 session replacing personal insurance protection coverage, which was created as a low-cost alternative to traditional insurance, with bodily injury policy and liability auto insurance.
Bodily injury protection typically has higher coverage limits, which would be expected to including higher premiums.
However, Horner said, because of the fraud that has been associated with PIP, bodily injury insurance coverage may be cheaper for Floridians based on numbers from the Office of Insurance Regulation.
He noted that a 40-year-old single woman with no accidents on her record and driving at 2007 Honda in Miami pays $1,074 a year for PIP while in Los Angeles the same coverage is $318 under bodily injury.
California, with its code of high taxes, crazy regulation, crunching debt, somehow auto insurance is a third or half of the price because theyre doing it differently, Horner said.
Haridopolos said that, since September, staged accidents in Hillsborough County have dropped from three a day to one a day after local officials closed a loophole that allowed fraudulent clinics to operate without a license.
What Hillsborough County did is closer to what the Senate has proposed, which is why Haridopolos said he strongly supported the bill, SB 1860, proposed by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who has spearheaded the Senate efforts last year to reform the states Medicaid costs.
There is a lot of people who want to scrape the whole system, and given the food fights Ive seen in my time in the Legislature, I dont blame them, Haridopolos said.
Remember, the PIP system was designed to reduce lawsuits and now it seems like there are more.
Both bills aim to reform the no-fault insurance program, which has seen premiums collectively grow by $1 billion in the past several years, which reformers say is due to fraud.
Negrons bill tightens procedures for licensing medical clinics and authorizing who can provide treatment, requires long-form incident reports as a way to root out staged accidents, updates the bill-payment system and gives hospitals priority standing in personal injury protection claims. It does not cap attorneys' fees or set a deadline for those involved in a crash to seek medical help.
The House approach -- favored by Scott -- allows policyholders injured in an auto accident to be treated by the medical professional of their choice unless the cost exceeds $1,500. It also applies a 72-hour window for treatment, caps attorney's fees and allows insurance companies to examine policyholders under oath when investigating claims.
The House bill also requires those injured in auto accidents to get treatment in an emergency room within 72 hours or from the medical provider of their choice if the cost is under $1,500. It caps attorneys' fees in both individual and class-action disputes.
Jim Turner can be reached at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
